My README is usually just one of these:

pod2readme lib/Main/Module.pm
[download]

...but some do like to have a custom README that has different information. Because my distributions vary wildly as to what they do and intended target, I always write out my documentation manually, and keep a list of any methods or uses that I've changed, so I can update the docs before release. Things vary too wildly between the dists I write to really have any form of documentation automation that I wouldn't have to continuously maintain and update, so there's more work there as opposed to just hammering it out manually.

Writing my docs manually ensures that I have full understanding of my code. I use Test::Pod and Test::Pod::Coverage to ensure all POD is in place, and beyond that, any failed unit tests will tell me that I've changed the code enough to do a review of the tests, the code (in case the change isn't what I expected) and of course the POD.

I am not in favour really of automating documentation; to me, it's an extension of the code, so it doesn't bother me to write it.

To further, I do periodic reviews of random distributions I have, validating the documentation is accurate through actually using the code per what the docs say.

It sounds like you need a simple Template::Toolkit set up if what you're trying to do is auto-populate some simple documents.